Automatic resetting mechanism for weeders



Sept. 9, 1930. c. KEY

AUTOMATIC RESETTING MECHANISM FOR WEEDERS Filed Oct. 22, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORY Jkzfi Z. f/e

Sept. 9, 1930. c. L. KEY

AUTOMATIC RESETTING MECHANISM FOR VIEEDERS Filed Oct. 22. 192'? 3 Sheets-Shoot 2 INVENTOR Ji /@116 ATTORNEY Sept. 9, 1930. c. L. KEY

v AUTOIATIG I'C'ESE'FIING MECHANISM FOR WEEDERS Filed Opt. 22, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR 6/4555? Z.

ATTORN E v Patented Sept. 9, 1930 PATENT OFFICE UNITED STATES CLAUDE L. KEY, OF MILTON, OREGON, ASSIGNOR T KEY WEEDER COMPANY, OF MILTON, OREGON, A CORPORATION OF OREGON Application filed October 22, 1927. Serial No. 227,924.

This invention relates to automatic -resetting mechanism for weeders and has as one of its objects to provide a mechanism that will automatically and positively reset the dumping mechanism of a weeder and positively force the blade into the ground through the medium of the dumping means.

Another object of the invention is to provide a resetting mechanism that will oper ate without stopping-the weeder.

Another object of the invention isto provide a resetting mechanism that will cause the dumping means to operate with such rapidity that the skips will be practically inconsequential.

A' further object of the invention is toerence is now had tothe accompanying draw-' I ings in which ing the device attached and in the position of rest; 1

Fig. 2 is a similar view to Fig. 1 showing the dumping device at the center of its operation;

Fig. 3 is a' similar view to Fig. 1 showing one advanced position of the resetting mechanism;

Fig. fi isa similar view to Fig. 1 showing another advanced position of the resetting mechanism;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the weeder with the resetting mechanism shown on corresponding position to that shown in Fig. 1.;

Fig. 6 shows the fragment of the compensa-ting link showing its adjusting means;

Fig. 7 is the rear elevation of a resetting sector showing detailed construction; and

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the latch release assembly.

Having reference to the drawings, like nu- -merals refer to like parts throughout the several views and the numeral 1 refers to a weeder in its entirety, the weeder consisting of a frame 2 represented by av laterally extend- Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a weeder show ing tubular member 3 supported by wheels 1 (represented by concentric circles), a longitudinally extending beam 5, preferably of tubular construction, with a diagonal brace member 6 rigidly secured to the longitudinal member at the rear end thereof, and this member and the longitudinal member having their forward ends hingedly secured to the laterally positioned member.

' Attached to the laterallypositioned member are goose-necks 7 of the usual type and these goose-necks in turn carry'the usual cutting blade 8'secured to the lower ends thereof.

The dumping means in this case consists of a toggle operating mechanism 9 which is the subject matter of my application for patent on dumping means for weeders filed March 3, 1927, Serial No. 172,315, but may consist of other dumping means or trigger mechanisms in general which depend upon manual resetting and which is applicable to a positive operating and resetting mechanism of the class to be described.

The dumping mechanism 10 consists primarily of a blade operating lever 11 attached to the laterally positioned beam 8, wherewith to rock that laterally positioned member, a tension lever 12 positioned opposite to the blade operating lever, to which may be attached a spring 13, a locking and adjusting bar 14 pivotally attached to the blade operating lever, and extended rearward to terminate in a toggle joint 15 formed at its junction with a tripping arm 16, the tripping arm being pivotally attached to an upright 17 rigidly secured to the longitudinal member 5 and having a tripping post 18 attached to and extended in generally perpendicular relation to the tripping arm 16, with a tripping or trigger rope 19, or other means, extended forward for manipulation from a forward position, not shown, as from a tractor. or for manipulation from the rear by passing it through a pulley 20, suitably attached to a pulley post 21 which is rigidly secured in a suitable position on the longitudinal member 5 of the frame.

In this toggle dumping mechanism 10 the means of locking the mechanism in position consists of bringing the toggle joint 15 past a for positivelyforcing theblade into the the center of a pivotal line which extends through the pivotal joint 22 formed by the locking and adjusting bar and the blade operating lever, and the pivotal point 23 of connection of the tripping arm with the upright,- providing a rest 23 therefor to prevent its further movement in adownward direction to bring this togglejoint slightly past center-. I I I With the above in mind it is obvious that a forward movement of the tripping post 18 will raise the toggle oint 15 past center and thus release the dumping mechanism 10 for action by any suitable means.

To simplify construction the main operating spring 13 of the dumping means 10 (whether the spring forms a part of the dumping means or the resetting mechanism is immaterial) is placed below the frame and is connected to the tension lever 12 by means of a bumper arm 24 which is offset, as at 24 to provide for the maximum upward movement of the blade 8 during the dumping operation and this bumper arm and spring is so connected to the resetting mechanism 25, to be explained, as to afford a slight tension on the bumper arm against which the blade first strikes in its upward movement, thereby providing a bumper affording a slight resistance counteracting in a measure the force of the blow of the blade against the. longitudinal member. 7

, It is now obvious that the dumping move ment comprises two movements, one of which raises the blade 8 out of the ground and the other to replace the blade into the ground; In the. first movement the blade is assisted to leave the groundby the pressure of the soil during the forward movement of the weeder, and'from then on until the'blade strikes the longitudinal beam, it has a free movement until it strikes the bumper arm; on the other hand, the free movement occurs as it approaches the ground when some positive action must take place to force the blade into the soil against the resistance resulting from the movement ofthe weeder.

As it is necessary to impart a high velocity to the blade on itsupward stroke, in order that the weeds may bercmoved or shaken off by the impact of the blade against the frame this velocityimpa'rting means anda means ground are 'two'essentials that will be considered with reference to the resetting mechanism 25 which'will now be explained The resetting mechanism25 consists of a crank shaft 26 mounted preferably on the longitudinal beam'5 of th'eweeder, and is extended to the diagonal member 6 to both members'of which itis rotatably secured in 1ournals 27 attached thereto, and this crank shaft terminateson one end in a crank 28* member which consists of a sector 29 contwo plates and adapted brace rods 38 of a'brac esmember to be explained. a V

Adjustably attached tothe spokes 31 are spikes 39 which are secured to the resetting sector 29 by the bolts 40 which by the means of additional holes in the spokes, not shown, provides for adjustment of the spikes radially, with a U bolt 41 surrounding the body of the spikes and passingthrough the arcuate member to make the final securement of the spike. I I

The brace member 42 consists of a second hub 43carrying a flange 44 and the rods 38 extended from this flange to the arcuate member 36 to be secured thereto as beforementioned for association therewith.

It will now be noted that this resetting sector 29 forms a sector of a wheel, and it will also'be noted that by this design, and by the length of it's spike, that its contact with the ground is not continuous and hence any device of the nature describedthatwill con tact the ground for-thepurpose may be used as'a sector. x a a e Rotatably mounted'on the end of the crank 28 is a'compensating lever 45 adaptedtorock thereon, and this lever is mounted in a mannor to provide a short arm 46- extending in a generally upward direction,and a long arm; 47 extended in an opposite direction, and is mounted on the crank 28 in a manner that its point of mounting will describe a circle whose radius equals the length of the crank, which radius is shorter than that of the sector thereby afio rding considerable leverage, and the respective lengthsof the arm are such as to compensate for the movement of theparts attached thereto, and the work expected from pensating link 48 extending forward from its point of connection to terminate at its forward end in an'elongated'slot 49"and provided at its extreme forward end with an adjusting piece 50 'slidably, mgunted between in:- securement therein by set screws 52 or other suitable means. i i

A bearing roller 53 is attached tothe locking and adjusting bar 14 andthe slotted portion 49 of the link 48 is mounted thereon, the slot being of a length to permit, the bearing roller to move forward therein with the forward movement of the blade operating lever 11 during the dumping operation.

Similarly secured to the lower end of the CIT long arm 47 of the compensating'lever 48 is a latch arm 54 having a forward extension 55 adapted to receive the rear end of the main spring 13, the forward end of which spring is suitably secured to the offset part 24 of the bumper arm 24 before mentioned, thereby yieldingly connecting the resetting memher with the dumping means to contribute a tension thereto.

The latch arm 54 extends rearwardly from its pivotal point of connection with the compensating lever 45 and terminates at its rearward end in a latch hook 56.

Mounted on the longitudinal beam 5, preferably to the rear of the crank shaft 26 is a means 57 to releasably secure the latch arm.

54 and this nea-ns consists of a short shaft 58 suitably journaled to the longitudinal beam, and this short shaft is norn ally bent at one end to provide a depending piece 59, the

I purpose of which will be explained, with a a, s m" plate 60 (orupturned piece) projecting tip-- ward in a generally opposite direction from the depending piece 59, and ca-rryung at its uppermost end a roller bearin 61 positioned to contact the top" of the latch hook 56 upon the rotation of the shaft, and thereby release the latch hook from the extended portion of the shaft upon the shaft 58 being rocked for the purpose. Attached to the depending piece 59 is a tripping rod 62 and this rod extends forward to a point intermediatethe resetting member and the dumping means where it is secured to a chain 63that has 1ts rear short end 64 attached to a spring 65,

with the rear end of the spring secured to the before mentioned uprights 17 and the forward long end 66 of the chain extended and suitably attached to the top 67 of the blade operating lever whereby upon the movement of that lever to the position as shown in Fig. Ztlae tripping rod will be moved forward and in turn will move the depending piece 59 forward, thus r cking its shaft and thus bringing the roller nearing 61 into contact with. the latch hook to dislodge that member from its position of engagement with the shaft 58, at the time the blade operating lever has reached its forward position. e

The first movement in theoperation of the resetting mechanism and dumping means occurs with the releasing'of the toggle dumpinq means and is shown by the dotted lines 1n Fig- 1.

It will be noted in this Fig. 1 that no movement of either the blade'or the resetting mechanism. has occurred.

In Fig. 2 two movements are shown, the

i first movement being shown bythe dotted lines wherein the blade 8 has been raised to strike against the bumper and the-longitudinal beam when the blade oneraiting lever has reached its maximum orward position.

Thismovement draws the chain 63 taut and the long end 66 then pulls the tripping rod thus automatically releasing the latch hook from the releasing mechanism. lVhen this occurs, the tension of the spring 13 is released and the resetting sector will then advance under its own weight, and as there is now no tension on the spring the sector contin ues its rotative advance until the lowermost spike touches the ground and becomes engaged therewith.

vVith the spikes engaging the ground the movement of the weeder rotates the resetting sector and the crank, and this in turn moves the compensating lever to the rear when its short arm positively resets the dumping mechanism, by means of its short leverage and the compensating link, while the long arm is extended forward and has placed the spring under tension, while the latch arm has been brought up into a position with the latch hook behind the shaft ofthe releasing mechanism, as shown in F 4. As the crank continues to rotate to a point past center, or to a position rather of where it comes under the influence of the spring, the spring then is permitted to draw the latch arm forward when the hook engages the short shaft and the tension of the spring then restores the resetting sector to its original upright position.

As the blade moves with great rapidity, (the movement being such as under actual operation defies the sight) a second bumper is provided to prevent the destruction of the blade against the beam in the nature of the before mentioned spring 65, to which the short portion 64 of the chain is attached, the short and long chains forming a continuous chain 63 extending from the blade opera-ting member to the spring, the spring thereby forming a cushion as the blade operating lever reaches its forward position, and coopcrating with the bumper arm to ease the blow of the blade against the longitudinal beam at the last moment of its upward movement.

In operation, and with the mechanism set as shown in Fig. 1, the blade 8 is positioned for operation and is held in that position by the above mentioned toggle mechanism which, by means of the rest 23 has its joint thrown out of line whereby to secure that mechanism rigidly and in the manner of operation of such toggle mechanisms.

Opposing this toggle mechanism is the main spring 13 one end of which is coupled to and exerts a backward pull on the tension lever 12 in an effort to rotate the lateral memher 3 that is held against rotation by the'toggle mechanism secured to the operating lever 11, with the other end of said spring held by a latch hook 56 engaging a short shaft 58 through the medium of a latch arm 54.

When the bladebecomes foul movement of the tripping postv 18 by the trigger rope will TOT) raise and release the toggle oint 15 when the spring 13 will pull on the tension lever 12 and rotate the lateral member 3, in an anti- .thus providing a loose connection between the latch hook 56 and the above mentioned short shaft 58. V

Simultaneously with this movement a strain has been put on the chain 63 by its connection at its forward end with the operating lever 11 and centrally to a tripping rod 62 (shown clearly in Fig. 8) and with its rear part 6% attached to the spring 65, and the pull on this chain by the operating lever 11 advances the tripping rod which in turn moves the depending piece 59 forward which operation rotates the Y roller bearing 61 through an arc to press against the latch hook 556 and completely dislodge it from its connection, to hang as shown in Fig. 2, when the spring 65 will act as a'bumper to pre-' vent-undue jar during operation.

With this movement completed the weight of the parts, and the sector, will urgevthe sector to drop forward and rotate with its shaft 26' by the successive engagement ofthe spikes 39 with the ground f This movement-ofthe se'ctorand shaft moves its crank 28 rearward and provides a direct pull to the compensating link 4:8 to draw the toggle mechanism to the-locked position, forcing the blade in'to the ground, and,

slacking the spring 13, through themedium of the compensating lever 45, so as not to impede the action of resetting, and simultaneously raising the latch arm 5a and the latch hook to a position for engagement with the short shaft 58, and with the further advance 7 complete the cycle of operation; that by thev direct pull of the compensating link the blade is positively forced into the ground; that by means of the spring 13- a tension is contributed wherewith to release the blade from the ground; that by the latch release the tension of the spring is controlled so that the operation of resetting the dumping mechanism is not impeded and that the tripping rod with its attendant chain automatically'releases the latch and that the bumper arm and the aforementioned spring 65 provides for an effective movement of the blade without detri mental effect I While the movement of the blade is very rapid, being such that only about a 9. inch skip will occur during the dumping, the

tension is contributed slowly with the rotation of the sector.

By this rapid movement of the parts the a blade may be considered as being continuously in the ground, and hence with the blade offering continuous resistance to the weeder there can be no danger of the weeder running onto the heels of the horses should dumping occur when theweeder is headed down a side hill.

Havin thus described In invention I,

a v I a dumping means for subsequent removal of the blade from the ground. V

2. In a weeder, provided with a dumping means comprising a lever adapted to rock the blade into and out of the ground, an automatic operating and resetting mechanism comprising a sector operably mounted on said weeder and adapted to engage the ground for positive operatlon by the movement of the weeder, a compensating means attached.

to said sector, means connecting said compensating means and said lever to force the blade into the ground, and means connected with said compensated means to contribute and hold a tension on the dumping means for subsequent removal of the bladeifrom the ground.

3. In a weeder, provided with a dumping means comprising a lever adapted to rock the blade into, and out of the ground, an automatic operating and resetting mechanism comprising a sector operably mounted on said weeder and consisting of radially extending spikes adapted to engage the ground for positive operation by the movement of the weeder, compensating means attached to said sector, means connecting said compensa ting means and said lever to force the blade into the ground, and means connected with said compensated means to contribute and hold a'tension on the dumping means for subsequent removal of the blade from the ground. i g

4. In a weeder, provided with adumping means comprising a lever adapted to rock the blade into and out of the ground, an automatic operating and resetting mechanism comprising a sector rotatably mounted on said weeder and provided with a crank, said sector consisting of radially extending spokes, spikes removably attached to said spokes, said spikes being adapted to engage the ground for positive operation by the movement of the weeder, compensating means attached to said crank, and means connecting the compensating means and said dumping means to force the blade into the ground and to contribute and hold a tension thereon for subsequent removal of the blade from the ground.

5. In a weeder, provided with a dumping means comprising a lever adapted to rock the blade into and out of the ground, a tension lever positioned in opposed relation to said lever, an automatic operating and resetting mechanism comprising a sector rotatably mounted on said weeder and provided with removably and adjustably mounted spikes adapted to engage the ground for positive operation by the movement of said weeder, and provided with a crank, a compensating lever rockably mounted on said crank, a compensating link connecting said compensating lever and the lever of the dumping means and means connecting said compensating lever and the tension lever in a manner to force the blade into the ground and to contribute and hold a tension thereon for subsequent removal of the blade from the ground.

6. In a weeder, provided with a dumping means comprising a toggle operated lever adapted to rock the blade into and out of the ground, and to secure the blade when in the ground, a tension lever positioned in opposed relation to the toggle operated lever, an automatic operating and resetting mechanism comprising a sector rotatably mounted on said weeder and adapted for positive operation by the movement of said weeder, and provided with a crank, a compensating link slidably attached to said toggle operated securing means and adapted to force the blade into the ground, a yielding means and a latch securing means therefor attached to said tension lever and'adapted to contribute and hold a tension against the toggle operated securing means, and to remove the blade from the ground, and a compensating lever attached to said crank and to said compensating link and said latch securing means to operate both of said members and compensate for their respective movements, and a trigger mechanism adapted to trip said toggle operated lever.

7. In a weeder, provided with a dumping means comprising a toggle operated lever adapted to rock the blade into and out of the ground, and to secure the blade when in the ground, a tension lever positioned in opposed relation to the toggle operated lever, an automatic operating and resetting mechanism comprising a sector rotatably mounted on said weeder and adapted for positive operation by the movement of said weeder, and provided with a crank, a compensating link slidably attached to said toggle operated securing means and adapted to force the blade into the ground, a yielding means and a latch securing means therefor attached to said ten-- sion lever and adapted to contribute and hold a tension against the toggle operated securing means wherewith to remove the blade from the ground, said latch securing means providing to maintain the sector in an inoperative position while under tension from the yielding means, and a compensating lever attached to said crank and to said compensating link and said latch securing means to operate both of said members and compensate for their respective movements, a trigger mechanism adapted to trip said toggle operated lever, and means to release said latch securing means by the movement of the toggle operated lever to permit the sector to as sume the operative position.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

CLAUDE L. KEY. 

